Harris County property tax bills on the rise

Home values in Spring Branch are up 38 percent over last year, more than any other part of town, according to the Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector’s office, which released a list of places Monday with the highest value increases.

The area around Midtown and Riverside Terrace is up 27 percent, and values in the Oak Forest/Garden Oaks region are 26 percent higher than 2014.

This news is good for those wanting to sell their their homes, but not so much for property owners who soon will be receiving their tax bills in the mail. The average residential tax bill will increase about $310, Assessor-Collector Mike Sullivan said. Bills are expected be in the mail the first week of November,

Overall, taxable values for property in Harris County increased 12 percent since last year to $392.2 billion, according to HCAD Chief Appraiser Sand Stiefer.

Fair property valuations have long been an issue across Texas, and the city of Austin recently sued the state in hopes of leveling the playing field between residential and commercial property owners.

Texas does not require disclosure of sales prices when a property trades hands and that has “created an imbalance in the amount of information available when appraisal districts determine market values for different categories of properties,” according to the lawsuit.

Sales data for residential properties is more readily accessible than that of commercial properties, the city claimed, making it “nearly impossible for appraisal districts to comply with their statutory and constitutional duty to assess all properties at market value so that taxation is equal and uniform.”

For 2015, the average Harris County home is valued at $149,867 with a tax bill of $3,553. That’s up from $133,147 and $3,243 last year.

Here’s the list of neighborhoods and their average home value increases.